Gooood morning! It's a bright and beautiful day here in Denver and I hope you all have had a great day so far.

I posting to confess that I, Taylor, am a diet coke addict. I have give up so much food in the last week that I have come to the conclusion that the one thing that has kept me sane is my diet coke.

This is one thing I don't think I will ever give up or cut back on. However, I have read that diet coke drinkers can consume more than 500 extra calories because it can make you crave snacks. I am aware of this but actually it has kept me from over eating because it is something I (and my taste buds) enjoy.

I reward myself with diet coke...like last night my boy (who can eat whatever he wants/whenever he wants...but has been such a saint eating chicken and veggie for dinner) had a nice big greasy omlet last night. So I drove myself to the gas station and poured myself a diet coke. I felt satisfied with the sweet taste and even better because I didn't even have a bite nor a smell (I gain weight even if I smell food, I swear! ) of his yummy food.

I know everyone has their opinion on diet coke....but I say

Drink on diet coke lovers, drink on!

I'm a former diet soda addict! I've finally defeated the addiction and am able to enjoy a soda occasionally, instead of drinking 1.5 2-liters a day (that's how much I was drinking before!). http://www.myaspartameexperiment.com/ is what cured me! Now when I want something fizzy, I reach for a seltzer with a little unsweetened fruity tea in it. I'll have some diet soda occasionally, but I'm not having it daily anymore, and I've taken all aspertame-sweetened things out of my life!

Can Diet Coke Kill You?

One of the active ingredients in Diet Coke is aspartame, better known as NutraSweet, which was approved for human consumption by the Food and Drug Administration about 20 years ago, paving the way for the diet soda boom.

In the years since, a number of people have begun to attack NutraSweet, claiming that aspartame can be broken down into three amino acid components, aspartate, phenylalanine, and methanol. All three can be broken down into smaller entities, called metabolites, which can be toxic. For example, methanol, or wood alcohol, can spontaneously become formaldehyde, while phenylalanine can decompose into diketopiperazine, which is a carcinogen.

In fact, conspiracy theorists credit NutraSweet for causing everything from multiple sclerosis to Gulf War syndrome, but say that "aspartame disease" is what hits most people. Symptoms of aspartame disease include headaches and dizziness … and about a billion other things. In February 1994, the Department of Heath released a list of 92 symptoms that occurred when people had an adverse reaction to NutraSweet, one of which was death.

The fine folks at AspartameKills.com are at the forefront of this expose. While their Website explains the horrors of aspartame in greater detail, their essential view is that Donald Rumsfeld and the NutraSweet people ignored the potential health risks to push approval of their wondrous sweetener. While some of what's on AspartameKills.com is notable and perhaps convincing, their tendency to dismiss government officials as ****s makes them difficult to trust.

Now, according to a study by the NutraSweet folks, "the safety of aspartame and its metabolic constituents was established through extensive toxicology studies in laboratory animals, using much greater doses than people could possibly consume." Of course, as the tobacco industry has shown us, corporations with billion dollar products have trouble accepting that their products may be unhealthy. Can't trust NutraSweet either.

Some independent studies appear to show that aspartame is safe, though. The fine folks at the University of Minnesota's school of public health studied the effects of long-term, hard-core aspartame use in 108 volunteers. In the study, every day for 24 weeks, half of the subjects were given a placebo and the other half were given the same amount of aspartame found in 10 liters of Diet Coke. The Minnesotan researchers discovered no differences between the two groups.

Then again, a story from Oxygen magazine on the dangers of aspartame poisoning says that 90% of the independent studies conclude that it's dangerous. Conspiracy theorists note that the National Soft Drink Association initially opposed the approval of aspartame and say the government won't listen to their concerns.

All of this begs the question: Is it safe to be addicted to Diet Coke?

We have no idea. All we know is it tastes great and is better than heroin.

*shrug* It's individual choice. I'm using stevia to sweeten things, occasionally sucralose...but I'm off aspertame now. I'm aware that with issues like this there are just as many proponents are there are opponents. It comes down to individual choice. I think that drinking 2 cans of diet soda a day is far better than 1.5 2-liters a day, and that's where I was at! I was seriously addicted, and pouring a whole lot of artificial sweetener into my body. For me, the answer was to get rid of it, and I have. I've also saved $15/week in soda purchases, which really adds up! $780+ over the course of a year on diet soda is a lot of money.

And I am proud of you! That's awesome!

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I have had a real issue with diet colas, at one point I was easily doing 1 massive bottle a day. Then I met someone who'd been drinking coke for years, and their teeth were in terrible shape, it really put me off, and I started drinking fizzy flavoured water instead. Now I have the occasional coke especially if I'm out in town, and I drink it through a straw.

Oh, I love coffee too!

Now, this isn't about me and my bad habit...just a little thread of those who like diet coke. That's all.

I am not addicted nor dependent upon diet coke, but rather something I enjoy instead of snickers.

okay with this in mind ill remove my post as it was clearly out of context and i don't want to derail your thread

i used to enjoy a diet coke 2/3 times a day.. if i didnt have one id get a massive headache. I have only had one this week, and no headaches. i replaced the diet coke with unsweetened tea.. it works just as good, its cheap, and easy to make! they even have cold brew tea bags now... its super!

I drink a ton of diet coke as well. I don't find it increases my appetite, if anything it probably helps out b/c I can be satisified sometimes with just having a diet coke instead of a snack, but I am a bit worried about all the rumors about artificial sweeteners.

I use to be addicted to diet coke as well. severly addicted. I would have a huge glass or 2 before I left for work, then I'd have 3-4 sodas at work, (Along with coffee ) and once I got home, I'd have at least a liter, if not a liter in a half up till I went to sleep. While home on weekends, I could easily finish a 2 liter and half of another 2 liter in a days time.

I stopped for a few reasons. I read that a lot of ppls system mistakes diet coke for sugar sodas, making you gain weight. The caffine comsumption I was putting in myself could not be healthy. I still have to have caffine, I have around 3 cups of coffee in the am, and sometimes one after dinner. Overall I am glad I quit the diet coke addiction.

I recently gave up diet soda, and it really wasn't that hard for me. I thought it would be, but I just sorta...did it.

In the past few days I've had diet soda twice, and after each time I've felt really sluggish, irritable, and just generally gross. I don't know whether it was the diet soda or what, but I don't think I miss it enough to feel like that more often!!

But TAYLOR -- if drinking a diet coke keeps you from grabbing a snickers and that works for you, go for it! Just be careful that it doesn't become a huge problem and that you're consuming more coke than water! That's bad news!

I like diet soda a lot too...but since my aunt got mouth cancer from sugar free gum I have been kinda scared to consume too much diet sodas because of the sweetners.

I enjoy unsweetened tea a lot which I guess most people dont. And I have completely stopped...except maybe twice a week...drinking coffee...I was getting migraines unless I drank coffee everyday.

I guess my point in these ramblings is everything in moderation. Its the golden rule for dieters I think.

"Luckily", my parents were not soda drinkers at all. I grew up drinking barley tea as water. However, when I eat burger/pizza, I feel like soda is way to go..so I go with diet soda. Other times, I drink water, wtater, water. =)